Arable News

A crop of oilseed rape has produced a gross output of 7. 04t/ha despite battling against flea beetle damage as it established in the autumn.

A new strategy and improved communication with levy payers on how their money is spent are just two of the significant changes AHDB has pledged to make.

After the sodden conditions last autumn, some arable farmers may consider drilling wheat earlier to guarantee a decent area next harvest. But threats such as grass weeds and virus carrying aphids are both more of an issue in early drilled crops. Bayer’s Darren Adkins gives his thoughts on how farmers can balance the need for wheat area with pest and weed threats.

KWS Parkin fell just short of making it onto the 2020/2021 RL and so could be overlooked by some growers, but this small and mighty variety offers something very much in demand, many industry specialists believe.

British Sugar and NFU Sugar have concluded negotiations for one-year and three-year sugar beet contracts from 2021, including a ground-breaking new Virus Yellows assurance fund and an innovative futures-linked contract pilot.

Farmers who drilled oilseed rape in July and August without applying a pre-emergence herbicide will need a tailored approach to weed control this autumn.

AHDB research has identified potential desiccation blind spots for potato growers, putting them at risk of virus and disease if they do not follow an integrated approach to new desiccation regimes.

The importance of winter wheat variety disease resilience was evident at Bayer’s virtual Long Sutton demo, with physiological yield-benefits from fungicides also likely.

Tower – a residual herbicide containing a unique mixture of pendimethalin, diflufenican and chlorotoluron – offers arable growers easy access to a three-in-one solution which is capable of controlling a wide spectrum of weeds.

Withdrawal of herbicide active ingredients is putting pressure on the remaining modes of action, warns ADAS weed specialist Dr Sarah Cook. Heather Briggs reports.

Mixed weather patterns across many regions of the UK and Ireland is leading to localised outbreaks of late blight in potatoes, according to Corteva Agriscience.

A start-up which aims to use cutting-edge technologies to help farmers improve crop yields has raised £250,000 to launch its first product, a ‘crop scouting’ system which predicts the size and timing of harvests.